Microsoft to Windows 2000 and XP SP 2 users: Next year, you're on your own
12/09/2009 12:29:00 AM
kenmouse
, Posted in
If you're one of the millions of XP SP 2 or Windows 2000 users who likes their old operating system just fine, thank you, be prepared to go it alone. As of July 13, 2010 Microsoft will end support for you.The move is clearly part of the Microsoft strategy to kill XP (aka OSRD, the Operating System that Refuses to Die). XP has proven to be such a solid and stable operating system that millions of people have so far refused to upgrade to either Windows Vista or Windows 7, to the unending frustration of Microsoft.
Ending support for both XP SP 2 and Windows 2000 server and client next year may not have a significant effect on most users. When was the last time you actually got support from Microsoft, after all? And support will still continue for XP with later service packs installed --- extended support for XP SP3 ends in April, 2014 or two years after a release of XP SP 4, if such a thing ever happens.
The real key to the end of support isn't getting direct help from Microsoft; it's that when Microsoft ends support, it stops issuing security patches. That can prove to be problematic and put your PC at risk if you have an operating system that no longer gets support. So anyone with XP who wants to keep the old operating system should upgrade to SP3 by next July. That way, you'll still get patches.
If you've got XP SP2 or earlier, and want to upgrade to SP3, download it here.
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